THE WAY TO RECONCILIATION

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Go, proclaim this message toward the north:”

“‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will frown on you no longer, for I am faithful,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will not be angry forever. Only acknowledge your guilt—you have rebelled against the Lord your God, you have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every spreading tree, and have not obeyed me,’” declares the Lord.

Jeremiah 3:12-13

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As we have studied the first couple chapter of Jeremiah, we have found the people of God in deep trouble, trouble of their own making.

They had strayed away from God, committing spiritual infidelity by turning their backs on Him to worship false gods and idols. It was the ultimate bad idea which led to them being plundered by God’s judgment and left disgraced and helpless.

Not the place anyone should want to be.

And yet, as we look at our world today, we find people repeating the mistakes of the past. God is being pushed aside in favor of the things of the world which offers plenty of enticements and trappings for people to get attached to. Rest assured that the God of the Old Testament Israelites is the same God who we belong to today. He made us and we are expected to serve Him with our fullest devotion and obedience. Doing otherwise will result in judgment just as it did more than 2,000 years ago.

It doesn’t paint a very pretty picture past or present but in today’s scripture passage, we find words of encouragement from the Lord, words that serve as good news for anyone who realizes that they have fallen short in being as loyal and faithful to God as they should. And that pretty much describes all of us.

Look again at these verses from Jeremiah 3:

“Go, proclaim this message toward the north:”

“‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will frown on you no longer, for I am faithful,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will not be angry forever. Only acknowledge your guilt—you have rebelled against the Lord your God, you have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every spreading tree, and have not obeyed me,’” declares the Lord.  Jeremiah 3:12-13

Note here that there are two specific steps mentioned by the Lord which define the way to reconciliation when we have fallen short of living in a way that meets His expectations and pleases Him.

First, we must return to the Lord.

God called on the faithless people of Israel to return to Him. In order to do this, they needed to first turn away from the false gods and idols that had gotten them in trouble in the first place. We can’t start to repair and restore our relationship with God until we abandon living in sinfulness and willingly choose to once again seek and receive His righteousness.

When we turn away from sin and back to the Lord, the second thing we must do on the way to reconciliation is to repent of our wrongs.

The Lord clearly sends the message to His people that they were to acknowledge their guilt before Him and in their case, that guilt was centered on the sinful rebellion they committed against God, favoring false gods instead of Him in direct disobedience to His commands.

Maybe you are in a place similar to where the Old Testament Israelites found themselves, standing before God having been unfaithful and disloyal to Him. If so, there is a way to reconciliation but only if you return to God and repent of your sins, acknowledging your guilt before Him.

When you do, you will experience the blessing of forgiveness, as God showers His grace, mercy, and love upon you. For just as Jesus conveyed in His parable of the Lost Son, God the Father never gives up in watching and waiting for one of His children to return home. He is always anxiously anticipating the time when one of His children who were once lost become found.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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